Compatibility – Avenza Systems

Geographic Imager 6.8 is compatible with Adobe Photoshop 2024 (25.x). Adobe Photoshop 2022 (23.x) is depreciated in this version. If you are running multiple versions of Adobe Photoshop on your system, please ensure that you have installed Geographic Imager to the appropriate Adobe Photoshop plug-ins folder(s).

The operations of concern are primarily the ones that affect the image size, pixel size, and orientation of the image. Most of the Adobe Photoshop functions that are involved in these operations, such as Crop, are supported. Pixel-level operations, including the majority of plug-ins (e.g. cut and paste), are transparent to Geographic Imager and are assumed not to modify georeferencing. These operations are treated as simple image modifications.

Every attempt has been made to ensure compatibility with Adobe Photoshop. Avenza, as third-party developers, acknowledges that due to various limitations within the Adobe Photoshop development environment, certain notifications and parameters are unable to be received from several native Adobe Photoshop operations. There are also a limited number of procedures within Adobe Photoshop that, when invoked, may adversely affect the georeferencing of a spatial image. A warning message will be displayed whenever an operation is performed and may cause data loss, render georeferencing invalid, closes a document without saving, or in any other way may silently affect the georeferencing of the image document.

information Learn more about Geographic Imager and Adobe Photoshop compatibility at http://www.avenza.com/support.

Unsupported Tasks and Operations

The following native Adobe Photoshop tasks or operations are not supported by Geographic Imager and may damage image georeferencing if performed.

Task or Operation	Description
File > Save for Web and Devices	Save for Web and Devices will create new files without any georeferencing.
File > Export > Export As	Export As will create new files without any georeferencing.
File > Export > Quick Export as PNG	Quick Export as PNG will create new files without any georeferencing.
File > Generate > Image Assets (Adobe Photoshop CC)	When enabled, the Adobe Generator will create new files without any georeferencing.
Image > Reveal All	Reveal is not supported and will result in lost georeferencing.
Image > Trim (Partially supported)	Trim works in modes when pixels are trimmed only in one horizontal and/or one vertical direction (e.g. top and left is acceptable, but top and bottom is not). To perform trim for all directions, trim top and left first, followed by bottom and right.
Select > Focus Area	Output To option set to New Document creates a new file without any georeferencing.
Measurement	The Measurement feature is not available in Photoshop CS6. It is only available on Photoshop CS6 Extended or higher.
Content-Aware Crop	The Content-Aware Crop setting is currently unsupported. If a crop is performed, use Undo to restore georeferencing. Uncheck the Content-Aware Crop setting before cropping again.
Generative Expand Crop	The Generative Expand Crop setting is currently unsupported. If a crop is performed, use Undo to restore georeferencing. Uncheck the Content-Aware Crop setting before cropping again.

Unsupported Automate Tools: Scripting and Actions

The following Adobe Photoshop scripts or actions are not supported by Geographic Imager and may damage image georeferencing if performed. To record Geographic Imager events using ScriptListener or actions, choose File > Automate > Geographic Imager [function] instead of using Geographic Imager panel buttons and menu items. Due to Adobe Photoshop API limitations, Geographic Imager functions triggered by the panel will not be recorded.

Script or Action	Description
File > Automate > Batch (Limitation)	When the Destination drop-down list is Folder, the new image will not be georeferenced.
File > Scripts > Script Event Manager	Performing actions or scripts that change the document’s geometry using the Script Event Manager are not supported and will not update georeferencing. Instead, run the script from the Actions panel or run it directly (choose File > Scripts > Browse).
Action Panel > Insert Menu Item	Insert Menu Item from the Actions panel will create incorrect results with some menu items.
File > Import > GI: Advanced Import	Accessing Advanced Import through the File menu is not recordable by an Action.
File > Import > GI: ArcGIS Online Import	Accessing ArcGIS Online Import through the File menu is not recordable by an Action.
File > Import > GI: ArcGIS Web Service	Accessing ArcGIS Web Service through the File menu is not recordable by an Action.
Document switching (Limitation)	Recording document switching actions (through the Window menu or pressing Ctrl+Tab or Command+Tab) may cause incorrect results when using a combination of Geographic Imager tools such as Georeference and Mosaic.

•When using any automated tools, Adobe Photoshop must already be open to ensure correct functionality. In some cases, the script will trigger events before Adobe Photoshop has been initialized and the event will not be registered by Geographic Imager. This could result in the georeferencing not being updated.

•Due to Adobe Photoshop API limitations, Geographic Imager does not automatically read georeferencing from a geospatial PDF when it is opened using a script or action. It's recommended to use a wrapper function or specify the file itself as a source of georeferencing as the next step in your script or action.

•The File > Automate > Create Droplet function is supported when: the destination set to none and the destination is saved and close. At this time, it is not supported when the destination is saving to a folder.

Other Special Notes

The following are some additional compatibility and procedural notes to be aware of in order to properly and effectively use Geographic Imager.

Transforming Coordinate Systems

•When transforming an image the background layer will be converted to a layer. This may introduce transparency so when saving to a format that doesn’t support transparency be aware the image will be flattened.

•Transformations always result in a north-up affinely referenced image.

•Multiple transformations may introduce an accumulative loss of precision due to the resampling needed when transforming images. It is recommended to transform images only once to the final source coordinate system. To avoid this problem, keep a copy of the original image if it will be needed in another coordinate system.

•In order for Geographic Imager to read coordinate system information correctly for files in certain projections exported from ArcGIS, it may be necessary to maintain the ArcGIS exported AUX file and store it in the same location as the ARC generated GeoTIFF file. Not including the AUX file may result in WKT parsing errors.

•An image transformed into Azimuthal Equidistant (spherical) may be recognized as "none" when opened in ArcGIS because of a conflict between the ellipsoidal and spherical datums. Furthermore, when an image in WGS84 is transformed into WGS84/Azimuthal Equidistant in ArcGIS, it actually uses a spherical datum.

Georeferencing

•Geographic Imager continuously maintains the proper georeferencing information for all georeferenced image files throughout the duration of the Adobe Photoshop session, as well as during a Save command. Documents may become implicitly georeferenced upon the file open process if Geographic Imager can locate proper georeferencing information. For example, GeoTIFF stores georeference information internally as metadata within a header while other formats store georeferences in an external reference file. When using an external reference file (e.g. TFW or JGW world file) the associated image should have the same name. Otherwise, the external reference file can be specified manually.

•Coordinate system information can not always be stored in the reference file. World files only contain image reference data and will never maintain the coordinate system. Some projections and coordinate systems are not supported in GeoTIFF. MapInfo TAB files also contain the same limitation and in absence of the coordinate system information, some MapInfo-based programs may, in fact, assume WGS 84 Coordinate System. ER Mapper ERS files must contain an ER Mapper identifier within the coordinate system definition to save the coordinate system with the file. See more about spatial image formats.

•Blue Marble RSF and MapInfo TAB files save the complete reference (point list information) so that it can be loaded again in the future. Esri world files contain a computed relationship between the source image coordinates and the reference coordinates and not the complete reference point information, therefore, reference points cannot be reloaded from an Esri World file. When an Esri world file is loaded into the reference point list the four corners of the source image are recalculated using the world file parameters and displayed as reference points. If you’d like to keep the original point list, it is recommended to save a MapInfo TAB file so that the raw reference point information can be recalled at a later date.

•New documents created within Adobe Photoshop are never georeferenced unless they are based on georeferenced documents. However, in cases where a new document has been created, a reference file for the newly created document may be specified or created using Geographic Imager.

•When rotating an image in GCP mode, all control points will be lost. A warning will appear when attempting these operations: Crop with rotate, Rotate, Image Size, Transform, and Advanced Import / Resample.

Color Modes

•Most color modes are supported for Geographic Imager operations, however, when exporting files some formats only support certain color modes.

•Support for the various image color modes available within Adobe Photoshop is identical across the various functions and operations available in Geographic Imager except as indicated below.

•Support for transforming 32-bit per channel images is currently limited while work continues to expand 32-bit per channel support within Geographic Imager. User experiences may vary depending upon image sources and workflows. Contact Avenza for more details.

•With color modes that are not supported by all of Geographic Imager operations, the bit per channel information will not be displayed on the panel (e.g. Bitmap, Indexed color, and multichannel) and the appropriate buttons will be disabled.

Mosaicking

•Adobe Photoshop allows for duplicate layer names. Therefore, if an image is mosaicked multiple times new layer groups will be generated with the same name within Adobe Photoshop.

Adobe Photoshop Artboards

•Geographic Imager does not support Photoshop artboards and references will be incorrect when an artboard is present.

•GeoCrop will not show the preview correctly when artboards are used and can't crop artboards.

•Transform will not transform artboards.

•Tiles are created incorrectly to the same extent when artboards are used.

Adobe Photoshop start-up

•It is not recommended to use the Alt+Tab keyboard command (Option + Tab for Mac) to switch between programs during Adobe Photoshop start-up. Geographic Imager runs a series of scripts that can be interrupted by the Adobe Photoshop debugging tool if this command is used. Using these keys during start-up may interrupt normal application execution and even cause the application to appear unresponsive.

Save Adobe PDF

•Modifying settings in the Save Adobe PDF dialog box may trigger error messages or may generate a corrupt PDF file. It is recommended to use Quick Save To Format. If necessary, use Adobe Acrobat to adjust PDF document properties (e.g. description, security, etc.).

Save before closing image or Adobe Photoshop

•It is recommended to explicitly save images using File > Save, File > Save As, a keyboard shortcut, an action or scripted command before closing them or quitting Adobe Photoshop. Quitting Adobe Photoshop or closing a modified image without saving may prevent georeferencing from saving properly.

Save on application Quit (Mac only)

•Saving multiple documents on close or quit is not recommended. Save documents before closing documents or quitting Adobe Photoshop.

Saving documents in background (CS6 only)

•Adobe Photoshop CS6 has the ability to save documents in the background. Geographic Imager supports this feature, however, georeferencing may not be stored when saving a document "as a copy". This may affect additional third-party format writers and the Adobe JPEG2000 writer. If you’re experiencing Geographic Imager warnings about reference not being stored, you may want to: 1) change your workflow to avoid renaming files on save; 2) choose a different file format; or 3) disable saving in the background (Preferences -> File Handling).

Compatibility with MAPublisher and Other Applications

MAPublisher for Adobe Illustrator

Geographic Imager's ability to transform images is a compliment to MAPublisher which can't transform images. Most image formats exported from Adobe Photoshop using Geographic Imager are compatible with Adobe Illustrator using MAPublisher. However, some features such as channels are not supported and should be avoided when creating images for use with MAPublisher.

The two environments employ slightly different methods for handling, encoding, and reading GeoTIFF headers and world files. In some rare instances, the georeferencing data created by Geographic Imager may be incorrectly interpreted by MAPublisher. In severe cases, the image may not be properly registered within Adobe Illustrator even after being recognized as a GeoTIFF. It is recommended to export a world file from Geographic Imager and use it for image registration in MAPublisher if GeoTIFF proves difficult or unsuccessful.

The Adobe Photoshop Export > Paths to Illustrator function creates an Adobe Illustrator file. To achieve compatibility with MAPublisher, Geographic Imager creates an RSF file upon export. Use the New MAP View for Photoshop Paths in MAPublisher to create a new MAP View based on the exported Adobe Illustrator file and RSF.

Adobe Bridge

In Adobe Bridge, rotating images does not maintain georeferencing of the image.

Other Third-party Plug-ins

All efforts have been made to develop and engineer Geographic Imager in accordance with the Adobe Photoshop SDK and third-party development schema. However, Avenza cannot verify and validate compliance and compatibility with other third-party plug-in products that may be installed on any particular system and cannot guarantee that the use of Geographic Imager will perform as expected in such environments and will not clash with other plug-ins. Furthermore, Avenza can neither confirm nor guarantee that the use of any particular third-party plug-in, action or script will not damage the georeference data of any spatial image in use with Geographic Imager.

When third-party plug-ins are installed to read the same files as Geographic Imager, conflicts in reading image formats may occur. It is recommended to disable or remove third-party plug-ins before using Geographic Imager.

The use of any other third-party plug-in that in any way alters the geometry of a georeferenced image will damage the georeferencing of the image due to the fact that Geographic Imager has no way of knowing a) that the other plug-in exists; b) that it has been invoked; and c) what it has actually done to the image.

In most instances, third-party plug-ins that do not alter the geometry of the image will not have an adverse effect on image georeference data.

Reset Adobe Photoshop Preferences

If you experience uncommon or abnormal results with Adobe Photoshop, try deleting the Adobe Photoshop preference file, Adobe Photoshop [version] Prefs.psp. To do this, hold the Ctr+Alt+Shift (Option+Command+Shift for Mac) keys immediately on Adobe Photoshop start-up. Alternatively, manually delete the preference file. A new preference file will be generated the next time Adobe Photoshop is run. The preference file is located in:

Windows: C:\Users\[user]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop [version]\Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings

Mac: /Users/[user]/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings